James a



No Model.)

J. A. MARINE.

WITNESSES INYENTOR ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. MARINE, OF MOORESVILLE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO RILEYBRAY, OF SAME PLACE.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,931, dated July 5,1881.

Application filed May 19, 1881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES A. MARINE, acitizen of the United States, a resident of Mooresville,in the county ofMorgan and State of Indiana,.have invented a new and valuableImprovement in Fences; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation ofthe same, reference being had to the IQ annexed drawings,making apart ofthis specification, and to the letters and figures of reference markedthereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a side view of myimproved fence. Fig. 2

1 is a plan view.

This invention has relation to rail-fences and it consists in theconstruction and novel arrangement of the panel-rails, placed end toend, the upright battens nailed thereto, the

crossbraces, the ground-sills connecting the ends of adjoining panelsand secured to the lower ends of the battens, and the riders orlocking-rails connecting the upper ends of the battens of adjoiningpanels and resting in the 2 5 upper brace-crotches, all as hereinaftershown .and described.

In the accompanying drawings, the letters A A designate the body-railsof each panel, common split rails being usually employed.

B represents a ground -sill, about four or five inches in breadth, lyinglongitudinally under the fence, and of sufficient length to reach a fewinches beyond the lower ends of the upright battens (J G, to which thebody-rails of adjoining panels are secured. These battens (l are nailed,one near each end of the panel, to the rails A, and are both placedusually on the same side of the panel, as shown in the drawings. Theirlower ends are nailed or bolted 40 to the ground-sills B, which extendfrom one panel to the adjoining panels, connecting the same in thefollowing manner: The battens of adjoining panels or fence-sections areon opposite sides, and each batten is nailed to one end of a sill, whichlies under the adjacent ends of two panels, intermediately, as shown inthe drawings. The sill therefore connects the lower ends of the panels,and is provided on each side with a batten extending up to support thebody-rails A.

D represents the stakes, which are placed across the panel, at or nearits center, and are set out a proper distance from the fence on (N0model.)

each side, to form a secure brace. Their ends are set deep and solidly.in the ground, and they are nailed to the top rail, where t-heycross thefence, to form a support for the rider or lock-rail E. The body-rails Aare not designed to overlap, but are placed end to end, in the mannershown in the drawings, so that the advantage of the full length of theserails is obtained. The battens extend above the top rail sufficiently toreceive the middle portion of the rider E, the ends of which rest in theforks of the cross braces or stakes at the mid- '6 5 dle portions ofadjoining panels. The upper ends of the battens are nailed to theintermediate portion of the rider, which therefore connects the upperportions of adjoining panels, extending across the space between theends of the rails above, as the ground-sill ex tendsacross this spacebelow. As the ground-sills lie in the length of the fence under thebottom rails they are not in the way of the mowing, and the fence-rowcan be kept clean. The rider is secured to the stakes, so that it cannotbe lifted without raising the fence. Should the ground freeze, and thestakes rise to some extent on that account, the entire fence will beraised, and its weight, when the ground thaws, will So settle the stakesback in their original positions.

I am, of course,well aware that it is not new to constructa fence withrails,battens, groundsills, and riders,'andldo not, therefore, broadlyclaim such devices.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The fence composed of the rails A A, placed end to end, the uprightbattens (J, nailed there- 0 to near each end of the panel, theintermediate ground-sills B, lying lengthwise under the bottom rails,and the intermediate riders E, lying lengthwise above the panels, saidsills and riders respectively nailed to the lower and 9 5 upper ends ofthe battens of adjoining panels, and the cross-braces D, nailed to theupper rails and supporting the ends of the riders, substantially asspecified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have roe hereunto subscribed myname in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES ARMINUS MARINE. Witnesses:

THOMAS E. SrUoKY, ELI H. DAKIN.

